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Bitten vs Natural-Born, Hybrids vs Purebloods
Bitten vs. Natural-Born Functionally, they are the same creature. If anyone were to ever do any in depth research into the biologics of werewolves, then they may discover some differences on a cellular level that may indicate an "infection" versus "inherited". The mechanics for this, however, are vague, as whatever makes a werewolf a werewolf is neither virus nor curse even if it's behavior is similar to a retrovirus. As proportionately, more werewolves are actually bitten than bred, it is seen as more common. Fundamentally, purebloodedness is more revered simply because of the difficulty most shapeshifters have in carrying a fetus to term, thus leading many to believe - namely other Purebloods - that it is superior. On the Likelihood of Infection The rate of infection among those bitten by a werewolf or other shapeshifter is only about 1 in 4 with those odds decreasing the longer the individual remains alive after the initial exposure. When taking into account other variables such as physical fitness and circumstance this number becomes 1 in 8. With only 1 in 10 surviving their first transformation. "Purebloods" A pureblood is a werewolf whose lineage is composed mostly of other pureblood werewolves. Typically these families are old, long-lived and revered for their virility. Their women's ability to carry one or even multiple offspring to term is believed to be a testament to the strength found in pureblood werewolves. Naturally, considering the scarcity of breedable werewolves, inbreeding is fairly common, which will, naturally, weaken bloodlines over time and thus their female's ability to deliver healthy or living children. Despite this, inbreeding is still practiced today as a result of many pureblooded families' sturbborness to maintain their pedigree. More colloquially however, a "pureblood" can also refer to someone whose parents are both werewolves, regardless of if one or both were bitten. "Hybrids" Hybrids are what comes of the union between a werewolf and a human. Male hybrids are infertile (both those able to shift/become actual werewolves and those who can't shift/remain human). Females are generally thought to be as well, but there have been a few surprises. Hybrid offspring stand a higher chance of being stillborn, being born with defects, being born healthy only to have their body tear itself apart as it tries to transform for the first time due to a genetic condition where the body essentially "forgets" to install the musculature necessary for change, and "Therianism", to use a somewhat outdated term. Otherwise known unofficially as "Metamorphic Malfunction Disorder", "Therianism" implies that the individual has the mind of a werewolf, one in which they will experience mental shifts and house a second personality, but will lack the mechanism for actual physical change. Essentially they are a werewolf brain in a human body. Stillborn or deformed infant Hybrids are thought to have sustained such conditions in the womb during a transformation. Hybrid children tend to be more sensitive/weaker than their pureblood counterparts, physically, but tend to develop faster. (Pureblood werewolves have been known to develop slower, learning to speak and walk at a later age although they both grow at the same rate until they come into their wolf.) They will later gain the resiliency and strength of their pureblood brethren. Hybrids born and raised to adulthood successfully are otherwise indistinguishable from their pureblood counterparts. Breeding Between Were-Species If two animal species can crossbreed in actuality, then two were-animals of those same species could conceivably crossbreed in Silver & Bone. The resulting individual may suffer the same setbacks as a crossbreed in real life however. For example, a were-liger would be infertile. Category:Lore Category:Character Creation